Robert Butler, Highwaymen painter, 70

Robert Butler had a reputation for his skill of the paintbrush, making wild animals on the prowl and the trees in the swamps come to life.

As a member of the prestigious Florida Highwaymen painters, Mr. Butler depicted Florida's landscapes in work he sometimes sold door-to-door.

Mr. Butler, who lived in Lakeland, died Wednesday at a Polk County hospital from complications of diabetes, his family said. He was 70.

"As a boy he grew up hunting and fishing," said Mr. Butler's daughter, Dorene Butler-Bennett. "He'd be out in the woods. He was an avid lover of the outdoors. Because of that, that's why he painted the way he did. He had a passion for the outdoors. Everything was an inspiration for him."

The Highwaymen painters — all African-Americans who were revolutionary in the Deep South for finding new ways to earn a living — became known for their vivid Florida scenes. In the 1950s and 1960s, their work sold for just a few dollars, sometimes out of their cars from the side of the road. Today, some original oils sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

"He was up and down the highway but not from the side of the road," his daughter said. "He went to an office and pulled out his artwork. He had to take care of his kids. Instead of picking oranges, they did this to bring in finances."

Mr. Butler was one of the original Highwaymen, said fellow Highwaymen Willie C. Reagan, of Vero Beach.

"He was very good," Reagan said. "He was one of the most realistic painters out of the Highwaymen. I learned quite a bit from him."

Mr. Butler was known to spend days at a time in Florida's state parks drawing various scenes. His reputation eventually led to jobs from ranchers who commissioned him to come to their properties to paint their animals.

In the 1980s, 14 of his original paintings of Florida's marshland, rivers, cypress, pine lands, and oak hammocks were put up in the state courthouse in Lakeland.

Mr. Butler is pre-deceased by two children. In addition to his daughter, Butler-Bennett, of Orlando, he is survived by his wife Dorothy Butler and children Robert Butler Jr. of Tallahassee; Daniel Ray Butler, of Savannah; Samuel Butler, of Bartow; Timothy Butler, of Amarillo, Texas; Aletha Ann Butler, of Leeburg; and Angela Lee Butler, of Lakeland; and five grandchildren.